Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha on Friday asked the top police officers, law enforcement agencies, lawyers, and other stakeholders to take all steps to increase the conviction rates. 

Launching five more mobile forensic vans for five districts of Tripura, CM Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that as per the reports of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the state’s crime scenario is better than other states in India.

“However, we have to increase the conviction rate of crimes. For this purpose, investigating officers, witnesses, lawyers, public prosecutors, and all concerned have to make serious efforts,” the Chief Minister said.

Earlier, three mobile forensic vans were provided to three districts, and with five more such vans provided to five districts, Tripura’s eight districts now have such mobile forensic vehicles.

A mobile forensic van, or mobile crime lab, is a specially equipped vehicle used by crime scene investigators to conduct forensic investigations at the scene of a crime, enabling efficient and speedy evidence collection, processing, and storage, a senior police official said.

Referring to the reports of the NCRB, CM Dr Saha said among the 28 states in the country, Tripura is third third-best state in curbing overall crimes and the 8th-best state in crime against women. For effective dealing with crimes against women, nine all-women police stations were set up in all eight districts in Tripura with West Tripura district having two such women-run police stations, he said.

Noting that if women were economically better than the crime against them would be less, the Chief Minister said, adding that to empower the women, 33 per cent of reservations were made for women in government jobs in the state. Breaking all barriers and stigma, 137 women were given jobs in Tripura’s elite force Tripura State Rifles (TSR), he said.

CM Dr Saha further stated that the present BJP government is working to provide protection to women and empower them (women) economically.

He said the state government is taking multiple steps to bring down dowry-related cases to zero. The Chief Minister said that 80 Deputy Collectors rank officials have been appointed as District Dowry Prohibition Officers, and all Sub-divisional Magistrates have been appointed as Dowry Prohibition Officers to curb the dowry-related cases.